Canada and the commemoration of a racist oppressor

He, John A. Macdonald, was also Canada's first Prime Minister and a founder of the nation. Under his ministry, Canada ripped approximately 100,000 indigenous children from their families and forced them into boarding schools--where many were abused physically and sexually--in an effort to assimilate them. In his words, to "acquire the habits and modes of thought of white men," otherwise, an indigenous child schooled where he lives, "is simply a savage who can read and write." He also utilized starvation to coerce indigenous peoples into reserves.

Given his views and actions, efforts have been undertaken in Ontario to strip
his name from the nine schools in that province named after him. Also, there are calls to remove a statue of him from City Park in Kingston. These actions have created an emotionally charged debate in the country much like the polemic in the US about the commemoration of Confederate figures.

NYT article about Canada's brouhaha